Kontakt 2019, 21(3):326-333 | DOI: 10.32725/kont.2019.038

Exploring the meaning of old age from the Czech adult perspective: A quantitative research studySocial Sciences in Health - Original article

Jitka Vaculíková ^*, Soňa Vávrová

Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Faculty of Humanities, Research Centre of FHS, Zlín, Czech Republic

It is believed that age is just a number, meaning that it does not dictate how to feel or how to act. However, empirical studies, on a representative sample, describing old age boundaries in terms of longevity and in words that best describe old age are, to our knowledge, lacking in the Czech environment. This article is, therefore, methodologically grounded in the quantitative approach, applying a descriptive design in the investigation of the interrelationships of the self-reported data taken from a representative Czech adult population perspective (n = 1,040). The research shows that most respondents consider age 70+ to be old age and associate it with illness, experience or wisdom. The majority of respondents wished to end their life at home. On the other hand, the ability of respondents to imagine life in a home for the elderly grows with increasing age, with women more often admitting this possibility. Women are also more likely to provide home care to a dependent family member. The willingness to provide informal care continues to increase, depending on age, higher level of education, and better living conditions. Besides gender and education, participants' willingness to move to a retirement home if necessary made the strongest contribution to the likelihood of their willingness to be a family caregiver. Based on the cluster analysis, respondents living in the Central and North Bohemia regions manifested a lower willingness to live in a retirement home and to provide home care.

Keywords: Family caregiver; Home care; Old age; Retirement home

Received: January 21, 2019; Accepted: June 24, 2019; Published: September 18, 2019  Show citation